America’s Mass Incarceration Problem Can Prison Contractors Actually Be Part of the Solution?

Executive Summary

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America’s Mass Incarceration Problem Can Prison Contractors Actually Be Part of the Solution?

MTC Institute Copyright © 2017 Principal Authors: Danny Jasperson and Karin Rueff

Comments are appreciated and should be directed to: Danny Jasperson, Director, MTC Institute 500 North Marketplace Drive P.O. Box 10 Centerville, UT 84014 Danny.Jasperson@mtctrains.com

Suggested citation: MTC Institute (2017). America’s Mass Incarceration Problem: Can Prison Contractors Actually

Be Part of the Solution? Management & Training Corporation, Centerville, UT.

America’s Mass Incarceration Problem: Can Prison Contractors Actually Be Part of the Solution? consists of a

two-part full report and an executive summary:

Part I explores the policies that led to mass incarceration in America, the role of correctional facilities in

criminal justice reform, and ways in which contract prisons can be used as a tool for reversing the

incarceration trend.

Part II highlights the efforts of MTC correctional facilities to promote a culture of safety and

rehabilitation, citing interviews with government partners, community members, and men and women

who have served time in MTC correctional facilities.

To see the full report, click here

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY It’s difficult to dispute the fact that the US has an incarceration problem. Over the last 45 years, the

incarceration rate has more than quadrupled, making the US prison population by far the largest in the world.1

With re-arrest rates as high as 55 percent,2 millions cycle through the corrections system multiple times without

having the underlying issues that put them in contact with the system in the first place fully addressed.

HOW DID WE GET HERE? CAUSES OF MASS INCARCERATION

What led to such a reliance on incarceration and failings in rehabilitating those that have violated our laws?

Some have tried to blame mass incarceration on contract prison operators, claiming that the pursuit of profit

has filled prisons and thwarts reform efforts. This simplistic view fails to account for the tough-on-crime

mentality and decades of public policy decisions at all levels of government that have contributed to

exceptionally high use of incarceration in the US (see figure 1).

Figure 1 Timeline and visual representation of the rise in the US incarceration rate: 1970 to 2015

Figure 1 notes: The green area chart plots annual changes in the incarceration rate of state and federal prisoners from 96 per 100,000 in 1970

to 458 per 100,000 in 2015, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While no single policy, practice, or entity is fully responsible for mass incarceration, tough-on-crime sentencing

policies throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s—including determinate sentencing, mandatory minimums, truth in

sentencing, and three strikes—have all been found to play a role.3 In the 1990s and early 2000s, a 50 percent

increase in the number of prosecutors nationally4 led to a 40 percent increase in admissions to prison.5

0

500

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

US

inca

rcer

atio

n r

ate

per

10

0,0

00

1972US incarceration rate at 102 per 100,000; begins

30-year trend of 6% average annual growth

Mid 70sRise of determinate

sentencing

1980sRise of mandatory

minimum sentencing laws

1990sRise of truth in

sentencing and three strikes laws

1990- 2007Number of US

prosecutors grows by 50%

1994-2008Admissions to prison

grows by 40%

2000sStates begin enacting

less rigid and less severe sentencing laws

2007-2008US incarceration rate

peaks at 506 per 100,000

20153% drop in US

incarceration rate -largest since 1968

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Behind the tough-on-crime policies was a shift in the philosophy of corrections from rehabilitation to

punishment and deterrence. This philosophy became solidified in 1974 when the results of a comprehensive

study on rehabilitation appeared to show that “nothing works” in rehabilitation.6

THE ROLE OF PRIVATE CONTRACTORS IN INCARCERATION

Starting in the 1980s, severe overcrowding and unconstitutional prison conditions prompted some states and

the federal government to contract for the construction and operation of prisons. 7 Government correctional

agencies retained full oversight of contract prisons, which must adhere to the same standards as publicly run

prisons. Contract prison use peaked in 20128 and today, only eight percent of US prisoners are housed in

contract prisons.9

Critics have claimed that “the private prison industry helped to create the mass incarceration crisis.”10 The truth

is, even if all state and federal prison contracts were cancelled today, America would still have the largest prison

population in the world and all of the problems associated with mass incarceration would still exist.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? REVERSING THE MASS INCARCERATION TREND

Public opinion on punitive criminal justice policies has

been changing and there are currently bipartisan efforts at

all levels of government aimed at reversing the

incarceration trend. 11 Policies that prioritize prison space

for those who commit the most serious offenses have

allowed governments to reduce prison populations

without compromising public safety.12 As a result of these

policy changes, the incarceration rate dropped three

percent in 2015—the largest decrease since 1968.13

The Role of Prisons is to Rehabilitate

The primary roles of prisons in the mass incarceration era

were to protect the public, punish offenders, and deter

crime. Prisons now have a small but important role to play

in reversing mass incarceration, but this requires a change

in focus and purpose from punishment to rehabilitation.

Four decades of correctional research has shown that “there is sufficient evidence to reject the nothing works

mantra.”14 Corrections agencies have the greatest influence over the rehabilitation of incarcerated men and

women. The way correctional staff interact with inmates, the security and care they provide, and the programs

and opportunities they provide are an essential part of rehabilitation. All correctional facilities—both publicly

run and contract prisons—should promote a culture of safety and rehabilitation through:

Strong leadership, training, and professional development for staff

Access to high-quality, accredited medical care for all incarcerated people

Evidenced-based programming to reduce recidivism

Family and community connections to assist with successful transitions

Paul McAfee (right) credits the staff and programs at MTC’s Diboll Correctional Center with helping him turn his life around. Read Paul’s story in Part I of America’s Incarceration Problem: Can Contractors Actually be part of the solution?

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Contract Prisons Can Be Part of the Solution

Ending mass incarceration will require comprehensive criminal justice reforms at all levels of governments. MTC

supports many of the current reform proposals to safely reduce the prison population, such as alternatives

sanctions for low-level offenses. While the role of contract prisons in the criminal justice system is small, they

can play an important part in reform:

Contract prisons that promote safety and rehabilitation can be a part of the solution to mass

incarceration by preparing incarcerated men and women to return to society and stay out of prison.

Part II of America’s Mass Incarceration Problem: Can Prisons Contractors Actually Be Part of the Solution

highlights the efforts of MTC correctional facilities to promote a culture of safety and rehabilitation,

citing interviews with government partners, community members, and men and women who have been

incarcerated in MTC-operated correctional facilities.

Contracting for prison performance can encourage more rehabilitative practices in prison, improve

safety and security, reduce recidivism, and spur innovation in corrections.

Contracting for performance involves defining

specific measurable outcomes and tying

incentives to those outcomes. Both public

agencies and private operators could compete

for prison contracts. This approach would

require governments to see correctional

contracts not as merely purchasing space for

prisoners, but as purchasing correctional

services that will improve the lives of men and

women involved with the criminal justice

system and reduce the need for prison space.

1 National Research Council. (2014). The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences. Committee on Causes and Consequences of High Rates of Incarceration. (p. 1) J. Travis, B. Western, and S. Redburn, Editors. Committee on Law and Justice, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 2 U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. (April 22, 2014). 3 in 4 Former Prisoners in 30 States Arrested within 5 Years of Release. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/press/rprts05p0510pr.cfm 3 National Research Council (2014). (p. 101) 4 Pfaff, John F. (2017). Private Prisons, Public Spending. In Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform (p. 129). New York: Basic Books. 5 Ibid (pp. 72-73) 6 Przybyiski, Roger. (2008). What Works. Effective Recidivism Reduction and Risk-Focused Prevention Programs. (p. 35) Prepared for the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice. Retrieved from https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ccjj/Resources/Ref/WhatWorks2008.pdf 7 McDonald, Douglas; Fournier, Elizabeth; Russell-Einbourn, Malcolm; and Crawford, Stephen. (1998). Private Prisons in the United States: An Assessment of Current Practice (p. 8). Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates Inc. 8 Geiger, Abigail. (April 11, 2017). U.S. Private Prison Population Has Declined in Recent Years. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/11/u-s-private-prison-population-has-declined-in-recent-years/ 9 U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. (December 2016). Prisoners in 2015. Appendix Table 2: Prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities held in the custody of private prisons and local jails, December 31, 2014 and 2015. (p. 28) Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p15.pdf 10 Shapiro, David. (2011). Banking on Bondage: Private Prisons and Mass Incarceration. (p.8). New York, NY. American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/banking-bondage-private-prisons-and-mass-incarceration 11 Baker, Thomas (August 25, 2015). Most Americans Support Rehabilitation Compared to ‘Tough On Crime’ Policies. LSE US Centre. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2015/08/25/most-americans-support-rehabilitation-compared-to-tough-on-crime-policies/#Author 12 Eisen, Lauren-Brooke and Cullen, James. (June 2016). Update: Changes in State Imprisonment. (p. 1). New York University School of Law, Brennan Center for Justice. Retrieved from https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/analysis/UpdateChangesinStateImprisonment.pdf 13 U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. (December, 2016). Prisoners in 2015 (p. 1). Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p15.pdf 14 Przybyiski (2008). (p. 35-36)